ABOUT THIS BOOK

Diminishing oil supplies, global warming due to use of fossil fuels, persistent strife in the Middle East, and increasing demands for energy have led to the search for additional energy sources. Many feel that a significant expansion of nuclear power will be necessary to meet projected needs. However, although nuclear power has been produced commercially for over thirty years, no country has yet found a permanent solution for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste. This book examines the complex political, legal, and scientific issues relating to the disposal of that waste.
The political controversies discussed here include the power of governors to veto placement of high-level nuclear waste repositories in their states, the use of incentives for spent-fuel acceptance, the use of Indian reservations as host sites, control of a Nuclear Waste Fund, and whether a state without a nuclear reactor should be required to accept spent fuel.
The scientific controversies discussed include monitored surface storage versus permanent geological disposal, burial above or below the water table, the probability of serious seismic and volcanic events, and long-term hazard assessment. This book is unique in its comprehensive discussion of the issues related to nuclear waste storage.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Robert Vandenbosch is emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Washington and has published extensively in physics and chemistry journals and lectured widely throughout the world. He is co-author of Nuclear Fission.
Susanne E. Vandenbosch received her PhD in political science from the University of Washington. Her research has been published in several political science journals.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
Acknowledgments 000
Preface 000
1. Introduction 000
2. Alternatives for the Management of Radioactive Waste 000
Surface Storage and Deep Geological Disposal 000
Reprocessing of Spent Fuel 000
Transmutation of Radioactive Waste 000
3. Overview of Legislative and Executive Actions Concerning High-Level Radioactive Waste 000
Early Efforts Regarding Waste Disposal 000
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 000
The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 000
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 and Yucca Mountain Radiation Standards 000
The Years between 1992 and Presidential Approval in 2002 000
The Clock Starts Ticking: 2002 Approval of Yucca Mountain 000
Setbacks on the Way to a Licensing Application 000
4. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982: Adoption of a Policy for the Disposal of Spent Fuel from Commercial Reactors 000
Factors Leading Up to the Adoption of a Disposal Policy for High-Level Nuclear Waste 000
The Politics of the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act 000
Analysis of the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act 000
Political Aftermath of the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act 000
Narrowing the List of Candidate Sites for the First Repository 000
5. The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 000
Postponement of the Second Repository 000
Candidate States for the First Repository Object 000
Monitored Retrievable Storage 000
Offering Incentives for a Repository 000
Udall Proposes a Moratorium 000
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board 000
Selection of Yucca Mountain for the First Repository 000
Political Aftermath of the 1987 Act 000
6. Attempts to Store Waste on Indian Reservations 000
7. Yucca Mountain as a Repository 000
Description 000
Local Government Environment: Nye County 000
Political Environment: Nevada and Yucca Mountain 000
8. The Energy Act of 1992 and Yucca Mountain Radiation Standards 000
Introduction of Nuclear Waste Provisions into the Energy Act of 1992 000
The National Academy of Sciences Report 000
Public Health and Environmental Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada 000
9. The 2002 Approval of the Yucca Mountain Repository 000
House Action 000
Senate Action 000
Political Aftermath of the 2002 Act 000
10. Court Appeals 000
The Nevada Suit against the Department of Energy, Secretary Abraham, and President Bush 000
Nevada Challenges the Constitutionality of the Joint Resolution 000
Nevada and the Natural Resources Defense Council v. the Environmental Protection Agency 000
Nevada v. the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 000
The Court Hears Oral Argument 000
The Court Decides 000
11. Transportation of Spent Fuel to Yucca Mountain 000
12. High-Level Nuclear Waste Disposal in Other Countries 000
Canada 000
France 000
Germany 000
United Kingdom 000
Sweden 000
Finland 000
Japan 000
Russia 000
India 000
China 000
International Repository Proposals 000
Overview 000
Appendix A. Organizations Concerned with Nuclear Waste Issues 000
Appendix B. Principles Guiding Radioactive Waste Management 000
Appendix C. A Visit to Yucca Mountain 000
Appendix D. U.S. Secretaries of Energy 000
Appendix E. U.S. Department of Energy Guidelines for Repository Site Recommendations 000
Appendix F. Organizations Opposed to the Yucca Mountain Repository 000
Appendix G. Supporters of the Yucca Mountain Repository 000
Selected Bibliography 000
Index 000

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